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Union vote results face challenge (comment on this story)

The United Steelworkers Local 6500 vice-president who challenged John Fera for the union's top job -- and lost by seven votes -- is appealing many of the results of last week's election for officers.

Patrick Veinot ran as head of the Workers' Team, a slate of candidates who challenged all of the positions in the first Local 6500 election in almost a decade. In more recent elections, executives ran unopposed and were acclaimed.

Veinot is looking to the local's election committee and USW's head office in Pittsburgh for direction on how to proceed.

"There were lots of issues ... we will be appealing," Veinot said Monday.

He and his supporters are gathering information and will be proceeding with their appeal of at least the executive positions that were won by 100 or fewer votes.

In one case, that of chief steward of maintenance and electrical, the result was a tie between Brent Laaksonen and Tim Kiley, a member of the Workers' Team.

Lyle Young is chief teller for USW Local 6500 and head of the local's election committee. He said he has never seen an election like the one held last Wednesday and Thursday, in which the results were close in so many cases.

Young, his poll clerks and scrutineers for both Veinot's and Fera's supporters recounted ballots for six executive positions where winners were decided by 100 or fewer votes.

Lyle was expecting results of the elections to be final by about suppertime Thursday, but it was closer to midnight before the 2,326 ballots cast by 3,375 eligible Local 6500 members were counted at the Copper Cliff branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Voter turnout was 69 per cent in the first elections since 2000.

Veinot wouldn't specify complaints or concerns he had about how the election was conducted or the results, but said his team would be looking at issues like whether any members voted at two different polling stations "because it would be easy to do. So we have to look at the names.

"Those are ... just off the top of my head. That's one of the things we'll be doing for sure."

He said his scrutineers have a list of "things that went on" related to the elections.

When asked if his team was protesting the results, Veinot said: "Yes and maybe more. All options are open right now. We just want to make sure we use the whole process to its fullest."

Young said recounts were held of the ballots for the positions of president, financial secretary, treasurer, trustee, chief steward of maintenance and electrical, and chief steward of operations.

Poll clerks and scrutineers were sequestered at the Copper Cliff Legion during ballot counting and cellphones weren't allowed.

"I've never seen anything like this before in my life," said Young, who served as a poll clerk in the 2000 elections. "Just everything was so close."

Young said he was unsure how to proceed in the case of the tie for the position of chief steward of maintenance and electrical, but said it could require a second vote.

Fera was contacted Monday, but was not available for comment.

For more information about the Workers' Team, visit www.worker-steam.com.

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New exec

Here is the official list of the new executive as released by Local 6500 on Friday: